Under the Panakes Tree (Sokeefe-ish)
by PigsAreLife
Summary: Basically my prediction for Legacy, with some Sokeefe mixed in. Rated because of the kissing. Oneshot.


**A/N: I just finished Flashback today and I'm bored, so I decided to write this! Takes place after Flashback, basically my prediction for Legacy. Oneshot.**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the wonderful Shannon Messenger.**

They were sitting under Calla's Panakes tree.

Just the two of them: Sophie and Keefe.

They'd been talking about normal stuff, trying to avoid the unavoidable. But eventually he had to ask.

"So, what happened with your matchmaking scroll?" Keefe said carefully. "Who'd you get?"

Sophie raised her face to his, and Keefe was startled to see tears welling up in her eyes. A single tear traced its way down her cheek. Keefe reached down to brush it away, but the remembered. _She was with Fitz now._

He let his hand drop.

"Keefe," Sophie whispered. "I'm Unmatchable."

Keefe froze. Part of him felt his heart break for Foster, while part of him (the mean, selfish part) wanted to jump up and yell "hooray!". For if she was Unmatchable, then that meant she and the Fitzster...No. He was not going to sink to that level. Foster needed him.

"It's not that bad," he comforted her. "Who cares about the Council's stupid ways? It doesn't matter whether you're Unmatchable, or if there are thousands of names on your scroll. No one cares. It's your future. You don't need a bunch of stuffy know-it-alls telling you who to love." He tried to smile reassuringly at her.

Sophie swallowed. "I used to think that too...But..." she didn't finish her sentence, but Keefe knew who she was thinking about. Fitz.

"Hey," he said, gently tipping her chin upward and looking her in the beautiful brown eyes. "It's okay. Lots of elves choose to not get married."

The waves of sadness radiating off of her broke his heart.

She lifted her shoulders half-heartedly and looked away. "I guess so."

In the back of his mind, Keefe couldn't help noticing how beautiful she was when she was sad. Her soft blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders in a waterfall of gold, her warm brown eyes glinted in the sunlight, the afternoon light bringing out the flecks of gold in her eyes. If only those lovely eyes weren't welling up with tears.

"I'm being silly," she said abruptly, standing up and swiping her hand across her face. "Agonizing over matchmaking scrolls while we have a war to fight."

Keefe stood up and looked her in the eyes. "Hey, Foster," he told her softly. "Fighting a war doesn't mean that you're not allowed to feel. We all feel emotions. I should know, I'm an Empath."

"Yeah, well..." Sophie sat back down again. "It's stupid anyway. All of this. This matchmaking, this giving you a list of people that you can love...Scorning people who choose to follow their hearts and shunning the Talentless. All these silly prejudices. It...changes people. Everyone blames the Neverseen on our troubles, but I think that the Council had a part to play as well."

"The Neverseen is to blame," Keefe reminded her. Sophie nodded.

"But the Neverseen wouldn't have become what it is today if the Council had been more fair," she pointed out. "Brant joined the Neverseen because the Council shut him out, remember? They refused to let him practice his ability, refused to let him train. And look at Alvar..." She trailed off, her mind lost in bad memories. "I'm not defending the Neverseen, or what they've done, but I think that the Council should take a bit of the blame as well."

Keefe nodded, completely serious. "True, Foster. Very true."

She smiled sadly. "Guess our world isn't as perfect as we all thought it was, is it?"

"What was your first clue?"

This time, she smiled a real smile. "Thanks for being here, Keefe."

Keefe smirked. "Anytime, Foster, anytime." He hesitated, then blurted, "I like you, Foster. I mean, _really _like you. I have for a long time."

Sophie blinked. "Really?"

Keefe couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed, but he nodded.

She blinked again. "Well, I guess you know about me and Fitz..."

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, I do. But I just want you to know that it's okay, and I don't mind, so whatever choices you make, I'll be here for you."

"Wait!" she blurted. "It's not like that! I don't like him that way!"

Now he was the one to blink. "But...I thought you had a crush on him."

Sophie stared at him. "You know?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, pretty sure everyone we know knows."

She blushed. "Well, I did. But now that I've told him..." she sighed. "I don't know what to think."

Hope flared in his heart. Maybe there was a chance that he could win her over after all. "Well-" he started, but Sophie held up a hand.

"Wait. I'm not finished. And I think...I think I like you, Keefe."

Time seemed to stop. _She likes me _echoed around in Keefe's head until it became all one blur. _Shelikesmeshelikesmeshelikesme_.

"You don't hate me?" Keefe found himself asking. "After everything I've done?"

Sophie smiled that beautiful smile. "Keefe, I could never hate you." She took his face in her hands and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. Then she stood up and walked away toward Havenfield, leaving a very stunned Keefe Sencen behind. Keefe didn't even react when Grady suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started lecturing him about being good enough for his daughter.

Sophie had kissed him. Sophie Elizabeth Foster had kissed him. On the cheek, sure, but it was a beginning. An awesome beginning at that. Keefe smiled, holding up a pathfinder and leaping away.

**A/N: Review?**


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